During the Venetian-Ottoman wars, a group of seven men attempted a secret attack on the Ottoman base at Gallipoli. The attack did not go completely as planned…
Ritualized Violence against Sorcerers in Fifteenth-Century France
May 10, 2015 By
These tales of violence and sorcery reveal interesting interactions with renowned sorcerers in villages that had not yet become involved in the witch hunts that were beginning to break out in the mountains in eastern France
‘Que lo lean literalmente’: Clerical Ignorance and a Late Medieval Wedding Ceremony
May 9, 2015 By
There is ample evidence that in late-medieval Spain a vast number of priests charged with carrying out the Church’s everyday liturgical responsibilities were undereducated and had little or no capacity in that language.
New Richard III Art Exhibit Opens Today
May 6, 2015 By
Renowned Leicester artist exhibit of the reinterment of Richard III at Leicester Cathedral opens today
Lasting Falls and Wishful Recoveries: Crusading in the Black Sea Region after the Fall of Constantinople
April 21, 2015 By
This paper examines the Black Sea question in the second half of the 15th century, with special emphasis on crusading and religious questions.
Places to See: The King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester
April 19, 2015 By
Now that Richard III has been laid to rest, and his tomb is open to the public for viewing, what more is there left to see when you’re in Leicester? Plenty.
The Sumptuous Use of Food at Castle Marienburg (Malbork) at the Start of the Fifteenth Century
April 11, 2015 By
The prestige role of luxury food consumption was particularly visible during meetings of an international character: Teutonic-Lithuanian, Teutonic-Polish or Teutonic-Polish-Lithuanian, to which the grand master would come accompanied by the highest Order’s officials.
Getty Museum opens Renaissance Splendors of the Northern Italian Courts exhibition
April 1, 2015 By
The J. Paul Getty Museum has opened its newest exhibition – Renaissance Splendors of the Northern Italian Courts – which brings together 25 works including illuminated manuscripts, paintings and drawings that showcases the beautiful artistic production taking place in cities such as Milan and Ferrara during the 15th century.
Writing About Richard III: Admissible Sources and Emotional Responses
March 29, 2015 By
What is it about Richard III that provokes an emotional response, when so many other British monarchs are of scant interest to twenty-first century people?
Philippa Langley: The End of Richard III and the Beginning of Henry I
March 27, 2015 By
Amidst all the excitement, and the whirlwind that was Richard III’s reburial in Leicester, I managed to catch up with one of the world’s most famous Ricardians, ‘the Kingfinder’, Philippa Langley.
The Road to Richard: The Reburial of the Last Plantagenet
March 23, 2015 By
While there have been outcries over the pomp and circumstance surrounding Richard’s extravagant burial, there has also been a renewed sense of pride and upswing in popularity for this much maligned monarch.
Quiz: The Battles of the Wars of the Roses
March 19, 2015 By
How well do you know your timelines – can you correctly place in order these nine battles from the Wars of the Roses?
Top Ten Insults against Savonarola
March 12, 2015 By
‘He is a fruit quite worthy of his diabolical seed.’
Crowdfunding project to restore medieval prayer book closes in on goal
March 10, 2015 By
In less than two weeks a crowdfunding campaign to restore a 600 year old manuscript has already raised three-quarters of €25,000 it is asking for.
Margaret Beaufort, Mother of King Henry VII
March 8, 2015 By
Margaret Beaufort, Mother of King Henry VII By Susan Abernethy Lady Margaret Beaufort was the matriarch of the Tudor dynasty of Kings in England. Her life was greatly influenced by the turning of the Wheel of Fortune. That she managed to survive the vagaries of the War of Roses in England is something at which […]
A Fifteenth-Century Merchant in London and Kent: Thomas Walsingham (d.1457)
March 4, 2015 By
In 1424 the London citizen and vintner Thomas Walsingham acquired the manor of Scadbury, then in the parish of Chislehurst in north-west Kent.
Which Of These Foods Were Available In 15th Century England?
February 28, 2015 By
Some of these foods were available when King Richard III was on the throne, others were not. Can you guess what might have been on your shopping list back in 15th century England?
Obscenity Out of the Margins: Mysterious Imagery Within the Cent nouvelles nouvelles, MS Hunter 252
February 25, 2015 By
The blatant portrayal of male genitalia is reminiscent of fourteenth-century marginalia, but here is located front and centre. Unlike marginalia, which was either allegorically related or not related at all to the text, these images are a direct portrayal of events recounted in the tales which they accompany. How can we explain where the inspiration for these images came from and how they fit into the ideas and conventions of the context in which they were created?
Cannonball from Wars of the Roses battle discovered
February 18, 2015 By
A lead ball, believed to be the oldest cannonball ever found in England, has been discovered on the site of the Battle of Northampton.
Scattered voices: Anthonis de Roovere and other reporters of the wedding of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York
February 17, 2015 By
Both sources are of great value for those who study the Bruges wedding, with the impact it had on its contemporaries, and the way in which our present-day picture of it came about.
The Isabella Breviary
February 16, 2015 By
Within its pages lie some of the finest illuminations ever painted during the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance.
10 Creepy Things to See at the Louvre That Are Better Than the Mona Lisa
February 10, 2015 By
If you’re an ancient historian, a medievalist, or early modernist, there are so many other amazing pieces and works of art a the Louvre other than these two tourist staples. Here is my list of cool, creepy, unusual and better than the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris.
Owain Glyndwr and the siege of Coity Castle, 1404-1405
February 2, 2015 By
The siege of Coity was indeed significant for its length and its importance, and it was indeed historic, because it is the most famous event associated with the castle in the entire 900 years of its existence. Yet we know very little about the siege and the circumstances surrounding it, even though it lasted for a good part of two years
Charlotte of Savoy, Queen of France
February 2, 2015 By
Charlotte of Savoy, Queen of France By Susan Abernethy Charlotte of Savoy came from a large family and was married at the tender age of nine under difficult circumstances. Her husband, the Dauphin Louis of France was twenty-eight at the time of the wedding and they would not consummate the marriage until Charlotte was sixteen. […]
Witchcraft Trials In Sweden: With Neighbours Like These, Who Needs Enemies?!
January 19, 2015 By
Everyone has “that” neighbour on their floor, or street who they’d secretly love to move to Mars and never see again. Well, the Early Modern Swedes had a way of dealing with those kinds of nasty neighbours…
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